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Saturday, March 4, 2017

Carptree - Emerger

John Milton who wrote the epic poem, Paradise Lost says, “For who
would lose, though full of pain, this intellectual being. Those thoughts that
wander through eternity. To perish rather, swallowed up and lost. In the wide
womb of uncreated night.” A journey into something that a man building his
own utopia, for people to come and start their new lives, may be not the
smartest idea, but it comes with a heavy price and it crumbles upon him.

That and Carptree’s sixth studio album entitled, Emerger combines good, catchy melodies
with a progressive and dramatic arrangement. The Swedish duo who formed the
band 20 years ago have released five albums. Now while I’m very new to the
Carptree ride, I knew listening to their new album released on the Reingold Records
label, it was going to be an adventure I was about to embark on.

I can remember coming back for my afternoon walks and low
and behold a new mail from Glass Onyon which has always perked my ear up for
new progressive bands and artists that peak my interest and they have never
disappointed me. Carptree have hit a gigantic home run. While they are a duo
(Niclas Flinck and Carl Westholm), they are almost accompanied by the No Future
Orchestra (NFO) which are a group of people who are both known and unknown acts
from Sweden whilst bringing their personal sound that are more or less
frequent.

Niclas’ voice resembles the minds of Strawbs’ Dave Cousins,
Peter Hammill, and Phil Collins. He could nail those arrangements thanks to the
keyboards (mellotron sampler on software), bass, 12-string guitar and a few
other instruments by Carl himself, it’s a story for what is happening right now
this year. Opener, The Fleeting Track starts
with the line “Where do I go/To find a
space for necessary/distance or detachment?” The song deals with the
question on finding out who we are.

With keyboards and the synths delving through a
revolutionary arrangement, featuring the orchestral atmosphere it reminisces of
Genesis meets Van Der Graaf Generator setting as if both Peter Gabriel and
Hammill himself worked together to create the theatrical voyage. In the spirits
between 10cc, Queen, and Klaatu’s Hope,
Between Extremes deals with the chance of stand up to fight and no turning
back whilst walking into the lion’s den.

The acoustic ballad Porous
features of a desolation scenario of what was, making the circle almost in
full while Ultimately Lifeless which
features an electronic introduction merges into a nightmare in the styles of a
Muse-sque melody as the stories taken from the inspirations of a crossover
between Ayn Rand, Philip K. Dick, and H.G. Wells brings the mellotron lush
inside of the underwater city.

The bonus track Dwindle
Into Darkness which is the remixed version of the song, deals with the
scenario of what’s going on which I’ve mentioned earlier. Niclas sings about
the detail and adds a chance that it’s a ride that will turned into a
frightening location set in a parallel infinite universe. The music fits the
situation and price to be paid for the enemies coming down on you and the pain
as well for the king to be taken down as city crumbles upon him.

Those who are interested in the novelists I’ve mentioned
along with some of the bands, Carptree’s new album is a story that holds an
intense setting. Worth checking out. And in the words of Richard Adams’ Watership Down, “All the world will be your enemy, Prince with a Thousand Enemies, and
whenever they catch you, they will kill you. But first they must catch you,
digger, listener, runner, prince with the swift warning. Be cunning and full of
tricks and your people shall never be destroyed.”

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About Me

I'm a blogger/freelance writer from Houston, TX who writes album reviews because I enjoy it. Even though, I'm not the best writer, there is no stop sign for me. I have a love of Progressive Rock music, Jazz Fusion, and Early Heavy Metal music from the '60s to the early '80s. I went to HCC (Houston Community College) for nine years and have completed my degree in Music in Performance: Jazz Studies. I've been writing Progressive Rock and Symphonic Metal reviews starting back in 2008 on my blogsite and it never gets old.